Active sports are increasingly popular. Gear such as bicycles, surfboards, paddleboards and snowboards requires considerable space for storage. When sporting equipment is stored in a confined area with limited space such as a garage, it may interfere with other items in the area, such as cars. Often such storage areas offer unused space near the ceiling, but access to this wasted space is typically inconvenient or impractical. Lifting a heavy object such as a bicycle toward the ceiling is difficult for many people.
Know in the art are devices which attempt to resolve the problem of storing equipment for cycling or other sports. However, typical current devices are not compact or convenient, nor easy to install or use. Often they still require the strength of user to hoist the sports equipment out of the way.
Some storage devices include a powered assist, such as a gas spring or strut, to aid in lifting the sporting equipment. However, none of the prior art devices allow for the gas strut force to be adjusted by the user in order to tailor it for a specific bicycle weight and pull-down resistance. Also previous designs are ceiling mounted, which limits the location where the storage device may be installed, and prevents installation where the ceiling height places the storage device out of reach of the user.
Thus there is a need in the art for a convenient, wall-mounted bicycle rack and tunable power-assisted overhead bicycle storage lift.